Sometimes we find co-op in the most unexpected ways. Take the gaming clan Tied the Leader. A predominately versus clan, the folks cooked up a crazy idea - lets see how many medals we can get in one shot of the Spartan Laser in Halo 3.

Bungie and GameTrailers are treating us to three new Halo 3: ODST videos this week, one a Firefight ViDoc (video documentary) hosted by Sgt. Avery Johnson, and the other two a campaign walkthrough from GamesCom.

Boy, do we have a multiplayer preview for you. Walk with us now, as we explore Demon Souls - the PS3 exclusive intense dungeon crawler, set to hit shelves just in time for Halloween complete with co-op. Well, maybe complete is a strong word, the co-op in Demon Souls is much different than you'd expect in a dungeon crawler. No Leroy Jenkins action. No loot splitting. In fact, very odd almost-co-op style co-op.

Halo 3 is one of those titles that I just never picked up. Even though I only recently (i.e., within the past year) bought a 360, the latest game in the Halo series wasn’t one that I just had to get hold of right away. I actually avoided it for as long as possible for a variety of reasons, but a certain someone, along with the price tag that comes with a game that’s close to two years old, convinced me that it was probably time to finally see what folks have been talking about. Buckle up tight, folks: this week in co-op, we take a day trip to New Mombasa.

Capcom has just announced that Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles will be shipping for the Wii on November 17th of this year. The two player co-op on rails shooter takes players through a retelling of Resident Evil 2. To celebrate the impending launch Capcom has a whole slew of goodies to snag.

It's hard to believe, but tomorrow marks the one year anniversary of the release of Castle Crashers. It is still among the finest co-op experiences in modern games, particularly for gamers who like a little old school in their new hotness. In celebration of the game's first birthday, the Necromantic Pack is now available for download, for the value price of a mere 160 MS Points.

The next Sins of a Solar Empire expansion packed entitled Diplomacy is scheduled to hit a public beta this Fall, that according to a Stardock employee blog post. Diplomacy will add new diplomacy features and new diplomatic tech-tree options to research, including the ability to form treaties with other alien races and trade treaties with other races.

Online retailer Amazon.com is listing a September 1st ship date for Gears of War 2: Game of the Year Edition. Retailing for $40, and available for $37, the game packs Gear 2 and all of the DLC content onto one fine disc.

We had played this game initially all the way back in February at the NY Comic-Con, but seven months later the rest of the world will be able to issue some kung fu action to a ninja's face, all with the help of a buddy.

It's been hot in these late summer days at the Co-Optimus HQ, so join us as we take a dip in the local turtle aquarium and discuss the past 14 days' worth of co-op news. We discuss this fall's upcoming releases, Nick lets us know just what's up with the co-op in Madden NFL '10 and a special 'guest' tells you what you need to do once you've listened.

PlayStation Blog's resident grunge Chris Morell spoke with Capcom's Chris Kramer about the PlayStation 3 version of Lost Planet 2 in an exclusive GamesCom interview; Capcom is adamant in making sure you understand that this release will be at the extreme opposite end of the spectrum from the lackluster Lost Planet PlayStation 3 release last year.